We are everyday faced with the conflict of decision making. To take tea or coffee. To make that trip or not to. To fix our rooms now or in an hour’s time. There are some who find decision making difficult. With so many varying options, it becomes increasingly important not only to make decisions, but to make the right ones. Usually, these options never seem complete. What this means is that, option A may have a part of what you need and option B would have a different thing which you also want. But unfortunately, that of option A is completely different from that of Option B. Maybe you need a phone that allows you to select any part of a song for a ringtone instead of compulsory starting from the beginning of the song. You find such a phone but sadly, you also need a phone that allows a split screen, that is, it allows for two applications to fit snugly into the screen at the same time. And that phone doesn’t support it. At that moment, decision making becomes more a battle of compromise than of choice.
There are many such decisions and they range from minor decisions like tea or coffee, to major decisions like who to marry and what course to study. Decision making has never been an easy boat to sail, and so many things inform the decisions people make.
• Comfort
• Ease of access or of activity
• Money
• Familial input
• Fear of the unknown
• Seeming succession i.e for example, I studied Medicine, the next step is specialization in Paediatrics (the preceding seems to inform the next step).
• And so many more…
These are legitimate reasons, but they are very uncertain and dangerous reasons by themselves. Making decisions like this has sent many people into life time errors they wished they could undo. Many have moved to a city that paid more only for the government to change and they stop paying at all. Some have made marriage choices based on the friendship between them only for 2 years down the line, the insecurities of one prevents the other from maximizing their lives and potentials.
Making decisions by what the narrative describes is a very risky move. So many have walked this path, and many more still blindly follow their trail. There is however a special someone took that risk and got a sentence he never recovered from. His name was Lot, nephew of Abraham.
Scripture records that they both became too prosperous for their little abode and it was causing strife. As a peacemaker, Abraham asked Lot to take a part of the land and he (Abraham) would go the opposite direction. Then Lot lifted his eyes, and looked to choose.
When Lot looked, he saw a semblance of the garden of the Lord. Of course he judged by his physical eyes and he saw a place that looked like the garden of Eden in beauty and provision. And he choose by the sight of his eyes. What he did not recognize was that Eden was not a physical location. Eden is the presence of God, and if he were wiser, he would have sought God to find out if God was actually in that place that physically looked like Eden. This is the danger of physical manifestations. We look at the physical laudable results and akin it to the presence of the Lord. That is dangerous.
Interestingly, that place didn’t only look like Eden. It also looked like Egypt! Isn’t it a wonder that people cannot differentiate Egypt from Eden? They look one and the same, but only because we employ the use of physical assessment– how it looks, how it feels, what it sounds like.
Egypt showcased a glory that could rival the glory of Eden. They were nearly inseparable in outlook, but were in actually, miles apart. It is dangerous to mix the two up. The glory Egypt exuded is proof that God’s principles are not faith/religion specific. Anyone can hinge on God’s principles and achieve results even without knowing God. Eden on the other hand is proof that knowing God is not synonymous with lack and penury. The mainstay of Eden is God’s presence, not the rewards, results or returns. Results can be in a place/option but God is not there. Egypt is Eden’s result without Eden’s Gardener.
The Lord, not the laud, should be the watchword when appraising any glory, or manifestation. Lot saw a manifestation that looked like a place where God was and went there to his ruin.
How many times have we taken steps because they ‘sound’ good? How many times have we made decisions because they ‘look’ lucrative? How many times have we chosen someone as a spouse or HOD or representative solely because of the qualities we see? How many times have we chosen a location of work or residence because they appeal to our senses and judgements? That’s the Lot’s way of taking decisions. It leads to ruin…or at best, a buoyant life without God (which is ultimately ruin).
Pause and search your heart. Why are you really making that decision? What is informing your decision making? Have you sought to find out if the Lord is there? If the view before you is an apparition of Eden or it is really Eden?
Make this confession: I submit my
natural senses to the refining
fire of the Lord. I do not judge
out of the sight of my eyes. I do
not make decisions after the
hearing of my ears. I seek the
Lord in my decision and I am quick
to flee if God is not in the
equation. My senses are fitted
with the binoculars of the Lord
not the laud. My senses are
sharpened to perceive those
results that are without the Lord.
My mind is renewed to realise that
glory without Jesus Christ is
Egypt. I stay fixed in the Lord,
and he informs my decision. Glory
to God!
God bless you!
Do you hear God speaking to you today through this lesson? Please, leave a comment or question; your comment/question might be a blessing to someone. You could also contact us through our contact page.
This is a beautiful piece and a must read for all who desire the presence of God, but often fail to discern it. God bless you for sharing.
Thank you Lord for being my stay and direction. I’m never lost or bereft of what to do. You’re always there to guide me.
God bless you Zoé. This really blessed me.
Lord, help me seek you in my decisions. God bless you Zoë!
God bless you too dear.
This is particularly to me. Thanks zoë. God bless.